open-ended

adjective

open-end·​ed ˌō-pən-ˈen-dəd How to pronounce open-ended (audio)
: not rigorously fixed: such as
a
: adaptable to the developing needs of a situation
b
: permitting or designed to permit spontaneous and unguided responses
open-endedness noun

Examples of open-ended in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The 36-year-old left the possibility of coming out of retirement open-ended during an interview with GQ. George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024 Applicants may feel pressed to present themselves authentically in the two schools’ very different application essay formats: the longer, more open-ended form of the GSB and the shorter, more directed form of HBS. Dr. Marlena Corcoran, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024 Now that social media has engulfed culture, pop songs are teased as snippets, mined for the briefest hooks and effects, choreographed for vertical screens and pitched as the latest plot twist in a performer’s continuing, open-ended reality series, otherwise known as a career. Jon Pareles, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024 In the 1990s, England and Wales, under pressure over coerced confessions, had pioneered an interrogation method that forbids lying and relies on open-ended questioning. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for open-ended 

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of open-ended was in 1825

Dictionary Entries Near open-ended

Cite this Entry

“Open-ended.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-ended. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

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